Belgian potato processing sector rounds off a record year for 2016
The fact that this growth sector within the Belgian food industry with 4.4 million tonnes (+ 11% compared to 3.97 million tonnes in 2015) once again processed a record volume of potatoes is not new, but the increase from one calendar year to the next has never been so great.
The sharpest rise was seen in the production of frozen fries (1.68 million tonnes, + 14.3% compared to 2015), but the production of fresh fries (234,700 tonnes, + 3.5 %) and other products (crisps, mashed products, flakes, etc. 468,513 tonnes, + 1.7%) also rose.
With a turnover of € 1.55 billion, in 2016 the sector employed 4,115 compared to the 3,537 employees in 2015.
The year also saw the highest investment figure since the start of the annual observations in 1995: in 2016 no less than € 310 million (+ 85% compared to the previous record year 2015) were invested in quantitative and high-quality innovations within the sector, of which the greater part are family companies.
Threats
However, there are threats for this growth sector too.
‘Small country, great food’ is the slogan of the Food.be campaign, that aims to simulate the export of Belgian food products.
Protectionist reflexes all over the world threaten to throw a spanner in the works, however. Thus, the Belgian (and European) potato chain was confronted with unwarranted anti-dumping measures taken by the South African and Brazilian governments.
Promotion for ‘Belgian fries’ in Southeast Asia
A few years ago, Belgapom launched the character James Bint (with a license to fry) as the ambassador of “Belgian fries”. He will propagate the Belgian culture of fries, of which the ‘chip shop culture’ – that was recognised as cultural heritage by the Dutch and French-speaking communities – all over the world.
Thus, VLAM will soon start a promotion campaign in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines to put ‘Belgian fries’ on the map there too.
These countries are above all familiar with the North American ‘French Fries’ from fast food chains. The aim of this campaign is to let the ever-growing middle class experience “original Belgian fries from the heart of Europe”. The campaign, with a budget of 3 milion euros spread over three years, is supported by the European Commission and APAQ-W, and will collaborate with 5 Belgian manufacturers of potato products.
For more information:
Romain Cools
Belgapom
Tel: +32 47 532 8757
romain@fvphouse.be
www.belgapom.be